Synopsis:
The gods are gone. Magic is lost. Vengeance is nigh.
There is death in the north; entire settlements slaughtered in the night by unknown hands. But dead things do not rest. Mages and scholars from across Breitho search for answers, to no avail.
The church clings to a whispered prophecy to bring back the gods and end the horrors in the dark.
But none of them understands what is truly at stake.
In her tiny village, Sarah Brandt has her own problems. She has witnessed her friend’s murder and is now running for her life.
Her frantic escape takes her to a circle of Druid stones, where something ancient and powerful is waiting in the darkness. When she encounters the burning presence within the stones, Sarah’s world changes forever.
Now it isn’t just justice she seeks, but salvation.
Not for herself, but for all humankind.
Review:
One part Druidic magic, one part romance, and all parts of awesome, Ember and Steel by Donna Morgan is a breath of fresh air in a genre mashup of dark fantasy and romance with a neurospicy protagonist.
After a traumatic event to her only friend, Sarah Brandt is now on the run from her quaint little village, and while saved from certain death in a bog by a strapping knight (plus his sarcastic archer pal & a wolf shifter knight comrade), she touches an ancient fire magic because who wouldn’t do that??? Far outside her nation, a deadly god is aiming to be revived and it’s up to Sarah with her fire magic to stop it. And just maybe, she’ll fall in love on the way.
Sarah is one hell of a protagonist and I found Morgan’s amazing 1st POV prose to really cement this story and arc. Sarah is in her thirties and is neurodivergent, so in this world, she’s looked at with a side-eye or contempt. But Sarah is loyal and stubborn and this plays into the plot really well, especially when she gets taken to the duke’s castle. There is a bit of excellent court intrigue and how she’s seen and how she reacts is great sources of tension before she sets off into the wild to learn from some Druids about her magic, then setting off to stop the dark god’s return. I will also say, her inner thoughts really connect to the reader because not only does she question being adequate to be in the court, she also says a lot of things that we readers ache for someone to just say to a snooty royal just once. I quite enjoy a snide response to a douchebag.
I knew this was a romance going in, but I was pleasantly surprised with how slow burn it is and how much trepidation Sarah has going into the whole romance angle. And I think that is down to how the LI Gwith is presented. He is the dashing knight commander of the duke’s army but he’s not made out to be a brooding shadow daddy nor is he a sarcastic/humourous character (that goes to archer pal Caz), and I think this was the wise move because most romances, the male LI tends to fall into one or the other category. Sure Gwith has some tragic backstory details, but he is loyal to a fault and epitomizes the ‘knight’ type character. I really liked him. The romance builds slowly and it feels incredibly natural. Plus Gwith’s friends (who becomes Sarah’s found family) are endearing and full of banter, which a lot of it is at Gwith’s expense. Just really well done.
But I will say, this story is a lot darker than I thought and that comes via the other POV (which is in 3rd POV) from the villain. She is trying to revive this dark god and unleash some death magic (for lack of better term). I really liked how Moriga is the ancient elf and we see things happen over centuries to get to this point. Having two different POV type styles can sometimes be jarring but this was quite smooth and was a pleasant reprieve during the story. And the dark part is the creepy death magic that happens, and it’s creeptastic. Plus the masked clergy/priests hunting magic, yeah, that’s some cool stuff and raises the stakes for Sarah after she touches the fire ember god.
Morgan’s prose shines in Sarah’s voice, like I already said, but the world itself is incredibly deep and feels lived in. The fun characters we meet in the bog or the dark underground tunnels are super fun and believable. The Druids and their dragons are also fun in their way. Then throw in a mysterious old Aunty at the duke’s castle and a fire god, and you have just a cool cool world. The titular Ember, or fire god, is also presented quite well in that it starts as this slow burn (pun intended) that Sarah begins to question, then she begins to talk to it after they come to learn more about each other. It’s an organic growth between them and I liked it a lot.
Oh, and there is a giant snake scholar. Damn neat!
I had a ton of fun with this story and cannot wait to see where book 2 goes because book 1 had a very interesting ending. Plus I just want to see more of Sarah, she’s that good of a protagonist. Highly recommend Ember and Steel if you enjoy dark fantasy romance with great character work and found family.
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